Mac turned terrarium for carnivorous plants

The Mac-turned-terrarium and the carnivorous plants within.
Completed March 2003. Don't ask when I started and how long the
partially-completed project sat in a box.

The Mac

I started out hoping to build a fishtank. With a saw blade, I cut
out any protruding plastic pieces from within the case. These pieces
were originally meant as mount points for boards and the CRT in the
Mac but just get in the way if you want a fish tank or plant
terrarium.

Then, I bought some plexiglass. Using a jigsaw, I cut out five
pieces and epoxied them to make an open-top box that fits neatly into
the bottom of the Macintosh case. I used silicone sealant for fish
tanks to seal the edges where the plexi pieces come together. Supposedly,
silicone sealant from hardware stores might release nasty chemicals over
time, whereas the silicone sealant sold at pet stores and meant for fish
tanks shouldn't.

Lastly, I searched for a plant light that would be small enough to
fit inside the case. I finally found a 13 Watt light bulb at Home
Depot, but had to go to a specialty electrical store where they
special-ordered the socket and ballast. I mounted these inside the
case. The light is on a timer. I should point out that in the first
month or so, most of the plants grew noticeably, but they also lost a
lot of their reddish tint and became greener. I've noticed this change
in photopigmentation in some succulents that I brought from sunny
California to Washington. It's quite possible that the plants would
actually prefer more than 13W for this size enclosure, and indeed the
owner of the Indoor Sun Shoppe where I bought the plants recommended
more.

The plants

The plants within are as follows. Where two images are shown, the
first was taken when the plants were first bought and the second
about a month later. All plants were purchased from the
Indoor Sun Shoppe in Seattle, Washington. I happenned to talk to the
owner and he was very excited and knowledgable about the plants. The
other employees in the store also know a lot. I highly recommend this
shop.

Venus flytrap: Dionaea muscipula

Purple pitcher plant: Sarracenia purpurea venosa

Sundew: Drosera spatulata

Cape Sundew: Drosera capensis

Sundew: Drosera dichotoma giant

Pinguicula morenesis

Neato note on the plants. The two larger sundews (the capensis and
dichotoma) have both caught small insects on their own. One day, I
came home and found a fruit fly stuck to the capensis and still
struggling. A couple of hours later, it was more stuck and struggling.
The next morning, the capensis leaf had folded over such that the fly
was sandwiched. A day later, the capensis leaf opened up again and
only remnants of the fly were still there.